Antonio Conte: What I have done at Chelsea has been my best work

Antonio Conte could win the Double in his first season in charge of Chelsea

Conte made his name at Juventus in Turin - the setting for the famous movie starring Blues fan Michael Caine.

He secured three successive Serie A titles before moving on to coach the Italy national team.

After Chelsea’s dismal 10th place finish last season, nobody gave Conte much chance of ‘blowing the bloody doors off’ and bagging the riches that come with winning the Premier League.

They started the season a 6-1 shot with the bookies and drifted to 20s after losing 3-0 at Arsenal in September.

That horror show forced Conte to speed up his planned tactical changes and he switched to a now much-copied 3-4-3 formation - and Chelsea have never looked back.

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“We must be proud of this season”

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte

At the weekend, after the 4-2 FA Cup semi-final win over biggest title rivals Tottenham Conte spoke of how tough it had been taking over a team in transition, with ageing stalwarts Branislav Ivanovic and John Obi Mikel shipped out and skipper John Terry relegated to a bit-part role.

Nobody thought the Blues were capable of regaining the title, he said, and he admitted what he had done in his debut season at Stamford Bridge had surprised even himself.

“I think we must be proud,” he said. “The players, the club, myself.

“We must be proud of this season. It wasn’t easy to have this type of season, to reach the final of the FA Cup and to fight until the end for the title with the possibility of winning it.

“We must be proud. But we reached this target only through our work. Work, work, work. It’s very important for me and also for the players, for the future, to understand that, without this work, it’s very difficult to have this type of situation.”

The Blues can go seven points clear of Spurs with a victory at home to Southampton tonight.

Asked whether winning the title in his first season at Stamford Bridge would be his greatest achievement as a manager, Conte said: “Yes, for sure. For me, for the players, for the club.

“I think, now, to win the title in England is a great achievement. A top achievement for the coach, the players and the club.

“To win in England these days is not easy. To win this league is difficult.

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“We must know that now it’s a good season. It will remain a good season. But we want it to become a great season, a fantastic season. To become a great or fantastic season there is only one way - to try and win.”